Jet Engine Blast at St. Maarten's Beachside Airport Kills Tourist

A New Zealand tourist has been killed by the blast from a jetliner taking off at a seaside airport in the Dutch Caribbean territory of St. Maarten, officials said Thursday.

The 57-year-old woman was knocked into a wall as she tried to cling to a fence to feel the blast from a Boeing 737 that took off on Wednesday, police spokesman Ricardo Henson said by phone. Tourists regularly ignore multiple warning signs to not stand by the fences surrounding the runway at the Princess Juliana International Airport, Henson explained, which is less than 200 feet (60 meters) from the beach in the tiny territory.

Advertisement - Continue Reading Below

"Many people come just for the thrill of this attraction, and unfortunately this time someone lost their life," Henson said.

Most Popular

As above, you can find multiple videos on YouTube capturing extremely close plane landings and take offs from the beach — they're often very blurry, but with good reason, as they show the effects of the engine blasts on those watching at the fences. (A widely shared video from 2012 shows another woman injured after she loses her grip on the fence while watching a plane taking off and is thrown against a wall.) And aviation expert Peter Clark told The Daily Mail it is "considerably" more dangerous to stand behind a plane taking off than one that's landing — as the deceased tourist in this instance was reportedly doing.

People in St Maarten in 2014 standing behind departing commercial airplanes adjacent to Princess Juliana International Airport and getting blown away by the blast.

Getty

People standing on the beach in 2014 in order to feel the force of the blast from the planes.

Getty

Following the incident, the woman was taken to the hospital, where she was declared dead. Henson said dozens have been injured in recent years by the jet blasts, but this is the first time someone has died. "It's very dangerous," he said. "It goes on all day, every day."

Rolando Brison, St. Maarten's tourist director, told the New Zealand Herald he spoke with the family of victim, whose name has not been publicly released. "I met with the family of the deceased this evening and while they recognized that what they did was wrong, through the clearly visible danger signs, they regret that risk they took turned out in the worst possible way," Brison said.